26-ish books 2024

First book of '24 finished My family and other animals by Gerald Durrel.

Wonderful with lots of LOL moments with the very eccentric Durrell family. I did not realise this was the first book of a trilogy so will look to getting the 2nd one soon. I also now want to go on holiday to Corfu! Sounds and looks beautiful!

Anyway onto my 2nd.
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

@Asiatoyork the next book I'm planning to read is The Key Man, it's about the Abraaj scandal which is the largest private equity bankruptcy. There's a documentary on it on iPlayer. Mind blowing stuff. But one of the accused are parents we know as our DC were at school together! 😱
It's just occured to me this is the 2nd time I'm 6 degrees (kind of) away from notoriety!!!

The Other Boleyn Girl is good. I remember browsing in the library years ago, I picked it up , sat down to read a few pages before I knew it I'd been reading for 2 hours! I found it easy to get into and the story flowed really well.

Yes I've heard good things about it, hopefully the book is as good.

Me too ❤️❤️❤️

1. Siblings - Brigette Reimann

its a short book but I got delayed reading it because had to read and prep two books for work. I don’t know about this one, maybe it was the translation but I got very lost and didn’t ever really get the hang of it, even though the lyricism was beautiful which I’m normally a sucker for. Didn’t help I didn’t really like any of the characters

@coolmum123 i really enjoyed the Lincoln Highway as well - but Amor Towles fan here!

The Heart’s Invisible Furies is definitely in my all-time top 10. Just amazing. I remember reading it on a flight and being really annoyed when we started coming in to land!

Troubledwords
There’s a tv adaptation of Daisy and the Six.
It’s fabulous!

@TrustPenguins have you read Heart's Invisible Furies ? Loved that.
My favourite book last year was Bella Mackie, How To Kill Your Family.

Started on a new book, Daisy Jones and the Six. Borrowed it from the library, so got a end date to get it read by.

I enjoyed the Other Boleyn Girl.

Adding ‘Rigged’ to my list. I tend to alternate fiction and non-fiction, although am definitely reading more fiction at the moment.

I have stalled a bit on book 5, which is 5th Sun, a new history of the Aztec people. First lesson, is that they were only called that relatively recently. It’s good, but not a page turner!

Hi everyone. I’d love to keep up with posting on this thread this year as I always get really good recommendations for books from mumsnet.

I finished my first book of 2024 last night. After flitting around a couple for a while, it was Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris. I really enjoyed it. I do like historical fiction, but I’ve only really read Plantagenet or Tudor era books.

I’ve started The Other Boleyn Girl tonight so we’ll see how I get on. According to goodreads I am currently reading over 20 books… I am struggling to get into books at the moment.

I'm on a roll! Finished no 4 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson. Really loved it. She writes so well but I haven't read much of her longer stuff. I do like short stories with recipes.

Hello everyone! Nice to be back after falling off last year’s thread. I read about 30 books last year, including audio books. I tend to have one ‘read’ and one ‘listen’ on the go at once. I’m an English teacher so also include books and plays I read with classes. People always assume that I will be a fast reader but sadly not!

1. A Fortunate Woman by Polly Morland

I’m in a bit of a Rosamunde Pilcher phase at the moment! Such wonderful comfort reading. I re-read The Shell Seekers last year and then listened to Coming Home, which was such a joy. I’m currently listening to Winter Solstice, which I’m also enjoying.

1. Lessons in chemistry

I've read Apples Never Fall too. Gosh, it felt long!! I might try Alice and Husbands Secret at some point. Feel I need something different for now though... just not sure what!

I'm onto my 4th one this year now. On a roll so sticking with it as I know it won't last. Breaking the doom scrolling habit isn't easy!

1. Rigged by Andy Verity about the LIBOR scandal and the whistleblowers who were basically thrown under a bus. It's a good read but quite a niche book. I enjoyed reading about it as I had worked with a couple of the whistleblowers in my previous life so it was quite poignant and I felt quite sad for them. It's not an obvious greedy banker story as it goes right up to Bank of England and the Treasury.

1. Left you dead Peter James

1. The Lincoln Highway Amor Towels

Now on my 4th one The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimor. Just started it so haven't really formed and opinion.

@TrustPenguins I agree. I've read a few and just wonder where they're going !
But, I loved What Alice Forgot and The Husband's Secret.
I also really enjoyed 9 Perfect Strangers. I think it's on Netflix or Prime.

I'm really struggling to read at the moment. I've started a Lisa Gardner, The Next Accident - it's really well written, but I can't get into it.

1. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

I've read a couple of her books before - Big Little Lies I really enjoyed, 9 Perfect Strangers not so much - and this one was a bit 'meh'.
I think she's a good writer but this was a bit slow going and I found myself waiting for a bigger plot twist which never came.

I'd rate it 2.5 out of 5.

Me too, it’s probably in my all time Top 10.

All the light we cannot see is one of my favourites

I've finished books 1 and 2.

1. Before the coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This book is translated from Japanese and most of the activity takes place in a cafe in Tokyo. The cafe has a rather unique selling point - if you sit at a particular table, it's possible to travel back in time. However, it's not as simple as it sounds - there are some very strict rules. The book tells the story of some of the cafe customers who choose to do just that. I really liked the setting of the book (I've read very few books that are set in Japan) and the rules made it more interesting than your average time travelling book. However, I felt it got a bit repetitive as the book went on. It was a book club read and most of the members enjoyed it. However, I'm not sure I'd go on to read the other books in the series. Also, we all had trouble differentiating between the different characters. Most of the characters' names began with the letter K

1. Heat Wave by Penelope Lively.

This book is set in middle England over the course of a summer. Pauline (the main character) has made plans to spend the summer at her summer home with her daughter, son-in-law and young grandson. The summer home consists of two houses which are next door to each other. As cracks being to appear in her daughter's marriage, Pauline is reminded of events from her own past. The events of the book take place during a heatwave, hence the title. I found this book really compelling and read it very quickly. The past and present are nicely interwoven and I had no trouble distinguishing between them. I'd recommend this book and I'd be keen to read other books from this author.

Joining please!

1. The Maid - Nita Prose

I really liked this. It was a bit far fetched, but I enjoyed it! I am a bit of a sucker for a murder mystery.

It tool me ages to work out where it was set! Some of the language made me think it was set in the UK and then other times I thought the states. (Turns out it's neither - it's set in Canada)!

2. The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

Hmm mixed feelings... I really liked it to begin with, but found some of the characters unlikeable and the will-they-won't-they romance between the two modern day protagonists a bit meh. The villains were just too OTT evil and unhinged. There were some loose ends... Madam Bowden? If anyone has read it can they please tell me wtaf was meant to be going on there 😂? It just felt a bit erratic and poorly thought out. The end was so rushed as well. Felt as if she ran out of time and just scribbled down some ideas.

Loads of references to well known authors and a few cameos from them as minor characters in the book. I quite liked that and also liked the shop. Considering it's the name of the book, I could have used a lot more of the actual shop tbh

1. A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore

I think this may actually make my "best of list" this year. I loved it. The descriptions were beautifully written. It made me slow down and savour every word, I love books like that. And I loved the story as much as the words.

Highly recommended. (Although there may some themes in it that could be upsetting)

I hope you are okay princessspotify. Did the book help a little?